Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
The bad or even sometimes good guys who get split open in samurai movies get forgotten, but there’s one who’s been at it for decades and he’s still going. Some might think it’s easy to die with a sword, but evidently it’s not. He’s been killed on screen 50,000 times. Is that even possible? A charming story. (NPR – samurai)
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Hunger Games / Battle Royale? The author of Hunger Games does something so similar and then gives the famous line of “I didn’t know about the other” line. It’s the oldest tactic of ripping something else off. Imagine, editors and staff (tons of them) at publishing houses, literary agents, publishers who passed on the project, friends perhaps, and none could say, “this is a Battle Royale copy?” Not one ever saw the big cult hit movie? (North County Public Radio – Hunger Games)
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A write up about films about 3.11 including Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom, Pray for Japan, but the writer does leave out the Shunji Iwai documentary, Friends After 3.11 (this is the link to our review). (NY Times – Films 3.11) The Oscar nominated Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom showed at the SFIAFF and although it’s a short, it’s a powerful look at the events that transpired. At first it was a distraction to see an angle of Cherry Blossoms, since it’s juxtaposition felt trite, but their beauty added a layer of hope and something to look forward to. Yes, in 2011 there were no mass drinking like in years past, but the cherry blossoms provided more of an observation of the flowers. Sad stories, a ray of hope, it’s a very grand look at lives after the quake and tsunami. It’s hard to slam or say much bad about a 3.11 film. Yes some are better than others, and some will tell the truth or even distort them, but as an event, all real documentation matters. [youtube]gxXhj8bDRTo[/youtube]
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Animal Style wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for Tad Suzuki and Thy Mai. It was after I sent their first film short to my friend Tim Hugh, who runs FAAIM’s Asian American Showcase in Chicago, that he suggested I curate an entire skate video program. And now their noir-inspired “The Working Man” and hyper-colored “Perfect Time” will kick off the bill on April 14.
Yes it’s about to start on Thursday. Congrats on getting to 30! This is still the premier Asian American anything in the country. It’s a film festival, but it’s more than that. The films are what it’s based around, but it ends up being a huge social gathering with numerous events of all sorts. Here’s the program.
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